Technology And Marketing Trends For 2017

Technology and marketing trends are deeply intertwined. The connection between the two will only become stronger and more complex in 2017.

What are CMOs discussing on social media? While lots of compelling subjects are broached, conversations are increasingly focused on technology and innovation. Marketing leaders are clearly coming to grips with the fact that the world around them is changing faster than ever and that incremental tech optimizations or rehashes of what used to work will not be enough.

Leadtail looked at more than 309,000 tweets from 1,318 CMOs published on Twitter during the third and fourth quarters of 2016. The analysis provides insights into timely topics that marketers at all levels need to tune into. Here are some specific technology and marketing trends generating discussion today:

#AI and #MachineLearning

Across industries and functions, everyone is talking about artificial intelligence. CMOs are sharing lots of articles about the coming wave of AI and machine learning. Prognosticators are already saying AI will dramatically affect everything from management to healthcare, finance and insurance. Even the entertainment industry is being impacted. It seems there’s no industry where AI is not being discussed. So, although it’s still pretty early in the AI narrative, marketers need to boost their understanding of it now. They need to know how AI could potentially intersect with their company’s current (or upcoming) product and service offerings. Read up and think strategically about where the technology and marketing lines might end up converging.

#IoT

Marketers are looking at the Internet of Things in terms of creating new and engaging customer experiences. Wearables, smart home hubs and other IoT-enabled devices promise to deliver troves of data. This will change how consumers shop. It will also alter how companies price, deliver and service everything from home appliances to subscription video services. As the owner and defender of the customer experience, marketers can help their organizations separate the signal from the noise. Think about what new streams of data can be turned into valuable insights for the company, while also providing valuable features to customers and clients.

#VR

Yet another area that has marketers talking is virtual reality. Things hit a fever pitch in the summer of 2016 with the launch of Pokémon Go, bubbled up again with the innovative launch of Snapchat Spectacles, and achieved a steady boil with Google’s Daydream View VR headsets hitting the market in time for the holidays. For marketers who truly care about storytelling and connecting with consumers, VR has moved from nice-to-have to must-do. And B2B marketers must consider how VR can play a role in their marketing efforts — through interactive product demos, or simply by creating virtual meeting spaces that make it easier to get face time with various stakeholders involved in complex purchases. VR may be the biggest area for marketers to track in the year ahead.